I’ve spent the last year trying to be another version of Dante: meticulous, detailed, methodical. But I’m not Dante. I’m not my parents. Or anyone else on this crew. Maybe, just maybe, I can save Dante not by being Dante but by being me.
Elle’s Rule #1: Play to your strengths.
We don’t start in the graveyard.
I’m going to be in Tartarus for a few days, and my supposed corpse can’t be lying in a cemetery all that time. Not aboveground, at least. So I’ll go into the Afterlife from home, and then Tolliver and Ezra will move my unoccupied body to the graveyard in two days, after I’ve had time to gather enough intel.
I don’tlovethe idea of my soulless body being dragged around, but I trust Tolliver with my life and death, and besides, this is for Dante. I’ll put up with a lot of discomfort—hell, even pain—to get him back.
Tolliver is in his lab in the basement, mixing up a batch of Juliet. CJ is soaking the limen stone in Soul Attaché. Ezra is sitting at the breakfast bar having anxiety sweats.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Rook asks, kneeling beside where I lie on Dante’s recliner.
I give him a confused look. “You’re the one who hired me—”
“I know. But that was before…” He looks around to see if anyone is listening.
“Before we made out on your sister’s grave?” I ask, then frown. “Sorry, was that insensitive?”
He chuckles. “A bit. But I kind of like that about you.”
He’s about to lean over and kiss me, but then Tolliver walks in the room with a flask of Juliet, and I turn my head away. I pretend I don’t see either of their looks of disappointment.
As Tolliver sets up, Ezra hovers nearby, wiping his hands on his jeans. “So how is this different?”
I tilt my head back. “Aw, New Guy. Are you worried about me?”
He shrugs. “You sign my paychecks.”
“Nobody signs your paychecks. You get paid in cash.”
“It’s not that different,” Tolliver says, connecting some tubing. “She’ll feel more stable, appear more solid. The…tether between her soul and body will be a little thinner, but she’ll still be able to find her way back.”
Tolliver meets my eyes for a moment, like he wants to say something more, but then his gaze drops to Rook’s fingers curled around mine and he turns away. I pull my hand free to scratch my neck.
CJ notices and raises a scarred eyebrow.
“See you in hell.” I give them a salute.
They give me an unimpressed slow blink.
Tolliver places the mask over my mouth, then arranges it until he’s satisfied. He takes longer than normal to straighten out the line before placing his fingers on the valve.
“Ready?” he asks, then adds, “Ellie-bean?”
I blink in surprise at the childhood nickname, warmth flooding through me. I give him a tentative smile and nod.
“Freddy.”
He returns the smile and switches the valve.
Just like last time I took Juliet, I’m not sure it’s working at first.
It’s a gentle push, a slight tickle, but this time I feel the subtle transition from body to soul. When I open my eyes, I’m still in my living room. But Tolliver, Rook, CJ, and Ezra are missing.
In their place, Poppy sits on the couch, holding my feet in her lap.
“That took forever.”